Forgive Me I Was Wrong to Despair
by Ivory Novelist
Summary: Another oneshot fluffangst piece...AL friendship, no slash...


Disclaimer: In my world, Aragorn and Legolas, ESPECIALLY Legolas,  
are MINE! Love slaves.. *_* But as for this sucky universe, they  
belong to Tolkien.  
  
A/N: Another shot..not relevant to Forgive a Bicker but same  
idea..Fluff, angst, no slash.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Forgive Me ( I Was Wrong to Despair )  
  
" Natha dagad thaer! ",cried the Elf, edge in his voice. // They are  
all going to die.//  
  
" Then I will die as one of them! " the man shouted back. He turned  
on his heel without a second look back and left. But Legolas wasn't  
done with him yet.The Elf followed closely before Gimli could stop him  
and caught the ranger by the shoulder outside.  
  
" What the hell is that supposed to mean? " the blonde warrior  
queried.  
  
" It means exactly what it sounds like. These are my people and I will  
defend them ", Aragorn replied firmly.  
  
" This is folly, and you know it ", Legolas hissed. " What hope is  
there?"  
  
" There is always hope ", Aragorn told him.  
  
" I will not let you die needlessly ", the Elf said relentlessly.  
  
" That is not your choice. They stay to defend, and I remain with  
them. What you do, Elf, if up to you ", the Man said icily, earning a  
hard stare from the Elf.  
  
" Fine. I will not waste my time in futile attempts to change your  
accursed, obstinate mind ", the blonde uttered irately. " But I shall  
not be burdened with you any longer. If you wish to die, so be it. But  
I will not be brought down with you."  
  
" You despair of loss before the fight begins ", Aragorn exclaimed. "  
I believed you to have more faith in Men - in me."  
  
" Faith is one thing, denial another ", the Elf countered.  
  
The ranger gave him a hard look, too stubborn to be defeated, as was  
Legolas.  
  
" Our whole friendship had been a lie, then. I thought you believed in me, but  
now I see I was fooling myself. You've never been a true friend if so  
faithless ", Aragorn concluded aloud, hiding his utter disappointment in the  
Elf.  
  
" Speak no further ", Legolas exclaimed, flustered. " You hiss lies. I have  
never been anything less than a true friend to you. The fact that you are claimed by a delusion of hope that I do not share does not diminish that. "  
  
" I will not waste anymore of my time with your petty words. I must prepare  
for battle ", the ranger replied.  
  
" Than our friendship is ended ", Legolas said flatly.  
At this, the ranger froze. " Nay, it is not. We are in an argument, Legolas. It  
means nothing." Things were swaying on the edge of a knife.  
  
The Elf shook his head slightly. " I will not sit back and watch you die. "  
  
The man took him by the shoulders, his anger and frustration now replaced with  
fear and doubt. " Legolas, what do you mean? "  
  
" Stay away from me, Human ", Legolas replied bluntly. He stepped back as the  
ranger gave some sort of flinch of surprise. It was as if the Elf had struck him  
across the face. His gray eyes bore a flummoxed and hurt expression. If not for  
his own rising panic, he would have noticed Legolas' lower lip quiver slightly.  
He remained wordless, and Legolas turned his back on the man and fled.  
  
Aragorn stood there utterly blown away. He could barely comprehend the Elf's words and what had just taken place. He and Legolas...it was over. It was over. Those three words were the only thing he could focus on. He had lost his best friend in a moment, just like that. Gone in a moment. It was then that he began to crumble inside. He felt his whole world being pulled up from under his feet. Something was screaming at him inside to go after the Elf, but he couldn't move. His gray eyes wandered lost and broken. What was he to do? How could go on? How could he live without Legolas?  
  
He couldn't, the ranger realized as he staggered and a painful lump rose in his throat. He couldn't.  
  
~*~  
  
Legolas hurried through the throng of people that bustled in anticipation of the battle, his head bowed because he wanted to deal with no one right now. What had he just done? Had he really ended it? Was it truly over? How could he have been so stupid? He had known Aragorn since he was brought to Imladris at the age of two. There was no one he loved more on the face of their God-forsaken earth than that man. He could barely remember his life before Aragorn and he didn't want to. And he knew the ranger didn't have any recollection of life before they had met. How could he have just thrown all of that away? The Elf disappeared into the room he, Aragorn, and Gimli had been given, shutting the door behind him before collapsing against it with a sigh. Damn. What was he going to do now?  
  
There was silence. He had subconsciously expected Aragorn to follow him. And yet he could hear nothing. The man had not come after him. He was just going to let the Elf go. It was over. Valar, it was finished. Legolas felt himself quiver inside as he let himself slide to the floor. What in the name of Elbereth could he do now? How could go on living without his Estel? Who would guide him? Who would love him that much? No one. He was lost. He was alone.  
  
~*~  
  
Aragorn sat miserably about the Hornburg, lost in thought. He ran his hand involuntarily through his hair with a sigh. He had never felt so empty before. He fought to keep from falling to pieces and trembled underneath his clothes and armor. Legolas should have been there with him, exchanging some miscellaneous comment with the ranger and giving him that heart- warming smile after Aragorn murmured something to him.  
  
But he wasn't. He never would be. It was his fault. He was the imbecile that burst out that death comment at the prince, the one who had been too proud and too rash, who hadn't gone after the Elf. Now he was alone. He suffered the loss of the most beloved person in his heart second only to Arwen Evenstar because of his stupidity. He didn't know how in hell he could pick himself up and lead the people in battle. He only wished to lay down and die in his misery. A labored breath rattled through his chest. He stood numbly and wandered off to wherever he might be needed, bitter regret reigning over him. He missed Legolas with all the pieces of his heart.  
  
~*~  
  
Legolas pressed his palm to his breast over his heart. It felt so empty there, and yet now the faint traces of a memory haunted that same place. He remembered when Aragorn was but an infant and he had held him there to his chest as if he had been the one to bear the babe. Indeed, back then he had always personally thought of little Estel as his child and loved him as such. He recalled an instance in which he was attacked by Orcs whilst among Elrond, the twins, the late Lady Gilraen, and other Elves traveling back to Imladris from abroad. They had gotten away but split from Legolas, who had at the moment held Estel. Eru, how he had clutched that baby to him as he rode like the wind. In that same place, Aragorn had later pressed his hand to the Elf's heart as they both officially vowed to the other their brotherhood. Since then, the Valar had bound their souls and they were bonded. To sever those ties left Legolas missing half of himself and dying, as well as Aragorn.  
  
It felt so empty. Yet at the same time, he felt the traces of his memories there upon his breast. Legolas put his head in his hands in hopelessness. It was his fault. He was the idiot who got annoyed and started the fight, the one who had refused to listen to the ranger out of his own stubbornness, the one who had called it off and walked away. Now look where it's gotten you, his conscious taunted. Legolas whimpered aloud as he felt the shards of his heart wound him further.  
  
~*~  
  
The battle had been fought and won. The night was still dark and the day dawnless. Things were still as the rain fell steadily and smoke rose from the ashes. Bodies littered the ground, Orc, Elf, and Man alike. Legolas staggered weakly in pain, his hand pressed to his side in attempts to staunch the blood that flowed freely from his wound. His free hand dragged his sword along the ground. He searched for Aragorn now, with now sign of the Man anywhere. He did not care if they were friends no longer. He had to find him alive.  
  
Finally, Legolas came upon Aragorn. The ranger was unmoving in the muddy ground, obviously badly wounded. The Elf only stared down at him for a moment, trying to take it all in. And then he realized Aragorn did not breathe. He dropped his sword to the ground and sunk to his knees beside Aragorn's motionless body. The Elf's slender, outstretched hand trembled until it came to rest upon the ranger's dark, wet, tousled hair. He inhaled sharply with burning tears in his eyes.  
  
" Aragorn ", he whispered.  
  
The rain soaked through to his core, beading his silken skin and running down his every limb in rivulets. Tendrils of platinum hair clung to his face and neck, dripping wet. His fingertips were barely stained with his scarlet blood while the water washed most of it away. He was unaware of the tears that escaped him, mingling with the rain.  
  
" Aragorn ", he mumbled. " Wake up ", he said quietly. His hand stroked the wild, raven hair tenderly, mournfully.  
  
" Estel ", he breathed. He brought his other hand away to let himself bleed and caressed Aragorn's face with bitter regret in his fingertips. He ran one hand over the man's brow and shuddered. The ranger looked so dead. The aching in the Elf's chest would not be helped until those gray eyes revealed themselves to him. " Look at me ", he pleaded softly, weeping, his tears lost in the rain so no one but Eru knew they fell. " Please."  
  
Legolas leaned and allowed himself to slump over the still human's form. He placed his arms around him and lay upon Aragorn's chest, ignoring the fire that burned in his side. In a moment, he silently began to tremble, the only sign he wept. So he remained for what seemed a long while, as he began to fade from his broken heart and the blood he lost with each passing second. But unexpectedly, Aragorn's arm lifted and slid up and over the Elf's shaking form, holding Legolas to the ranger. The Elf gasped and clutched his best friend's shoulders tightly.  
  
" Forgive me ", he wept with eyes pressed shut in the rain. " I was wrong to despair." 


End file.
